Emerys’ love has lasted a lifetime in Franklin

Seventy-four years ago, they met. On a snow-covered Beaver Street, during a frigid January afternoon, the two teens could see their breath, the cold wind blowing in their face as they went sliding together. Now, with two children, three grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren, Nancy and Owen Emery will celebrate their 7...

By Matt Tota/Daily News staff

Milford Daily News

By Matt Tota/Daily News staff

Posted Jul. 1, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jul 1, 2012 at 1:04 AM

By Matt Tota/Daily News staff

Posted Jul. 1, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jul 1, 2012 at 1:04 AM

FRANKLIN

» Social News

Seventy-four years ago, they met. On a snow-covered Beaver Street, during a frigid January afternoon, the two teens could see their breath, the cold wind blowing in their face as they went sliding together.

Now, with two children, three grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren, Nancy and Owen Emery will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary on the Fourth of July, having lived a lifetime together in Franklin.

But they still remember that winter day in 1938 vividly.

“He’s been my shadow ever since,” says Nancy, now 88, sitting across from Owen, now 90, yesterday in their Glen Meadows apartment.

Born in Scotland, she was 14, and he, born in Maine, was 16. Both students at Franklin High School, they were with a group of mutual friends, sledding.

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, Nancy did not have a sled.

So, not to be left out of the fun, she joined Owen on his Flexible Flyer. And after, Owen walked Nancy back to her home on Dean Avenue, before returning to his own Queen Street home, about a mile away.

From that point on, the two would stroll home together every day after school until Owen graduated in 1940. Young lovers, they continued seeing one another. A year passed. Nancy entered her final year of high school.

On Dec. 7, 1941, miles away from their peaceful existence in Franklin, the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, pulling the United States into World War II.

A short time later, Owen registered for the service, along with his five brothers. Two of Nancy’s brother registered, too.

A year later, in July, they married. Three months later, 20-year-old Owen was drafted and sent for basic training at Fort Devens.

The morning Owen was set to leave, the couple sat together at Nancy’s home on Cottage Street (she had moved from Dean Avenue in 1940). Her mother had made Owen a massive breakfast of bacon and eggs.

He couldn’t eat any of it.

The suddenness of it all hurt them, deeply. Yet Nancy says she recognized that they were in no way alone in their pain. “Almost everyone we knew got married before they went away to war,” she says.

Still, being ripped apart right at the beginning of the rest of their lives, what a pain it was. “It’s indescribable, really,” she says, and Owen nods his head.

In February 1943, after spending time in Louisiana at Camp Claiborne, Owen was sent overseas — to war.

Owen would serve three years in the Army, celebrating his 21st birthday in England, spending time in France and storming Utah Beach, part of the second wave of U.S. troops during the D-Day invasion of Normandy.

It is difficult for him to recall that day, he says, apologizing. One image he will never forget: the moment his Higgins boat hit the beach and the sight of all of the bodies lying atop the sand.

Page 2 of 2 - Through his time in the war, Nancy was never far away from him. Owen kept a small, heart-shaped picture of her affixed to the chain that held his dog tags.

Meanwhile, back in Franklin, Nancy was working at a local department store and missing her husband terribly.

To ease the anguish of their separation, they wrote to one another feverishly. “We had letters up like this,” Nancy says, motioning with her hands a large stack. “Sometimes I’d get no letters for a week; sometimes I’d get 10 at once.”

Having completed his service, Owen arrived at Fort Devens on Dec. 4, 1945. Exuberant, and having to poke herself to remind her the day was not a dream, Nancy rode with her brother to pick her husband up.

They returned to her sister’s home in Milford, where a massive dinner of spaghetti and meatballs awaited them.

Owen couldn’t wait to eat it.

Like the day they first met, the night Owen came home sticks in Nancy’s head. “We talked all night,” she says, glancing across the table at Owen.

Owen and Nancy’s first child was born in October the following year: a son, Owen Jr., who would eventually come to be known as “Mickey.” Five years later, they had their daughter, Denise.

Mickey was a soldier just like his Dad. He served in the Vietnam War, and, like his father, celebrated his 21st birthday overseas. Denise, before retiring, worked as a hairdresser, and has three children.

Now, having been happily retired themselves for more than 30 years, Owen and Nancy live a calm and quiet life together.

The party for their 70th wedding anniversary will be today at the Franklin Elks Club. This year’s celebration, though it’s a milestone, may be different for another reason.

Every anniversary party — and, remember, there has been 69 of them — Nancy and Owen have danced the polka. It’s a tradition.